CVE-2026-44687
LOWDescription
In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.13.2 up to and including 1.25.1, stub or forward zones where the name is below an intermediate labed below a DNSSEC signed zone could be shadowed by the intermediate label's secure NXDOMAIN answer from the parent. This is caused by an off-by-one error in 'harden-below-nxdomain' logic; enabled by default. It effectively bypasses the configuration and the configured stub/forward zone is never contacted. 'harden-below-nxdomain' does an upward DNS cache walk together with a delegation point guard that does not allow NXDOMAIN synthesis above stub/forward zones. The guard tests the domain name but before stripping a label. This results in an iteration where the domain name equals the configured stub/forward zone apex that passes the guard, strips one more label, and probes the cache at the apex's immediate public parent. If that parent has a cached DNSSEC-secure NXDOMAIN, which it will for any private namespace nested two or more labels under a signed public name, the walk returns it and the configured stub/forward upstream is never contacted. This can only be triggered by the query for the intermediate label (between the stub/forward apex and the DNSSEC parent zone).
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L/E:U
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 12% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-193 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2021-3156 | High | 7.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2003-0466 | Critical | 9.8 | 78% | - | - |
| CVE-2023-44444 | High | 7.8 | 56% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2021-23017 | High | 7.7 | 53% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2023-28709 | High | 7.5 | 50% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2018-8828 | Critical | 9.8 | 30% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2026-44687?
Upgrade unbound on debian unstable to 1.25.2-1 or later.
Is CVE-2026-44687 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2026-44687 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.22% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 12% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2026-44687?
CVE-2026-44687 has a CVSS v3 base score of 3.7, rated low. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2026-44687 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for unbound (Debian). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
Embed a live status badge for CVE-2026-44687
Markdown
[](https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2026-44687)HTML
<a href="https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2026-44687"><img src="https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2026-44687.svg" alt="CVE-2026-44687"></a>Find and fix vulnerabilities across your fleet
TridentStack Control continuously scans your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet for known vulnerabilities, prioritizes them by severity and active exploitation, and patches them automatically.
This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-07-24.